Decision not to prosecute Huntley “correct”
The police officer who decided not to pursue accusations of under-age sex made against Ian Huntley has defended his decision.
Peter Billam, formerly a detective inspector with the Humberside force, said it would not have been possible to secure convictions in any of the three incidents that the Soham murderer had been linked to.
Huntley was investigated for allegedly having sex with three under-aged girls in the mid 1990s.
Last year he was sentenced to life in prison for the abduction and murder of two ten-year-old girls, Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman.
Giving evidence to the public inquiry into the Soham investigation, Mr Billam said he was satisfied that his decision had been the right one.
“In reviewing the files, I know that I made the correct decisions on the evidence given at the time,” he said.
The Bichard Inquiry is looking into the way in which different police forces handled information about Huntley’s past.
After his trial it emerged that he had been accused of a number of sex crimes in the past, yet had managed to get a job as a school caretaker.
